BJP rebel Gokul Gite stuns Shiv Sena to win Nashik Council seat
Rebel BJP candidate Gokul Gite pulled off a surprise in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections by winning the Nashik local authorities' constituency and defeating ruling
Rebel BJP candidate Gokul Gite pulled off a surprise in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections by winning the Nashik local authorities' constituency and defeating ruling Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade. Counting was held on Monday for the June 18 elections to 11 seats in the Upper House, with BJP candidates also winning in Nanded, Aurangabad-Jalna and Osmanabad-Latur-Beed. The biennial elections were originally notified for 17 seats, including one bypoll, but voting was needed in only 11 constituencies. Candidates of the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar's NCP, had already secured unopposed victories in six seats. Read Full Story In Nashik, Gite secured 357 votes against Darade's 248 and won by 109 votes, according to election officials. His victory came as a surprise as the ruling party candidate was expected to mount a strong challenge. Darade belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which has been in the spotlight after six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members rebelled, and all of them joining the Shinde-led Sena. He had campaigned in the constituency along with several elected representatives.
Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande raised doubts over the result, saying, "There is a serious doubt about the result as we were assured that our candidate would be supported." A visibly upset Darade left the counting centre after it became clear that a majority of local representatives had voted in favour of Gite. There was some tension at the counting centre after Gite reached the venue and objected strongly to the presence of Darade's brother, Kishore Darade, the sitting MLC from the Nashik Teachers' constituency. This led to some tension between the candidates and their supporters. The Nashik contest had seen controversy from the time Gite announced his candidature against Darade. Gite had alleged that Darade used foul language against him. He entered the fray as an independent against the ruling alliance's official candidate, and senior Mahayuti leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Shinde, BJP minister Girish Mahajan and Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant, had intervened to resolve the issue. After intense discussions, Gite halted his campaign, but his name remained on the ballot because the withdrawal deadline had passed.
Though he had said he would not continue campaigning after meetings with senior leaders, he clarified on Monday that he had only suspended his personal campaign while his supporters continued canvassing. In Nanded, BJP candidate Amarnath Rajurkar retained his local authorities' constituency seat by defeating Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Krushna Patil Ashtikar by 255 votes. Rajurkar, who had joined the BJP from the Congress along with former chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan before the Lok Sabha elections, secured his third straight win from the constituency. He polled 339 votes, while Krushna Patil Ashtikar got 84 votes and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi candidate Prashant Ingole received five votes. Krushna Patil Ashtikar is the son of rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, who has announced his move to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Earlier in the day, the Sena (UBT) said Krushna Ashtikar had been removed from the party for "anti-party activities". In the Aurangabad-cum-Jalna local authorities' constituency, BJP candidate Suhas Shirsath won with 455 first-preference votes. His Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Ganesh Kautikrao Lokhande polled 135 votes, while Ishak Khan Sandu Khan secured 35 votes.
The BriefWire